‘Nelly Don the Musical’ reaches record-breaking milestone
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A Kansas City trailblazer continues to sew her way into the history books. Nelly Don the Musical Movie is now the longest-running movie in the metro in over 39 years.
The independent film, showing at the Glenwood Arts Theatre, sured the 85-week run of The Gods Must Be Crazy in 1986.
“It is an amazing thing that Kansas Citians keep coming out to this film,” Terence O’Malley said.
O’Malley is the great-great nephew of Don. He created the film in 2023.
The musical is a based on the true story of Nell Donnelly Reed, a woman who ignited a fashion revolution in the early 1900s to become a global sensation.
“This is a woman who was the largest dress making manufacturer in the twentieth century,” O’Malley explained.
Don got her start in Kansas City with her first factory at the iconic Western Auto Building.
She sold 75 million dresses globally.
O’Malley will host a celebration May 21 to mark the milestone. It will be held at the Glenwood Arts Theatre at 5:15 p.m.
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